


Texting an Angel

by profoundfangirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Audience Participation Welcome, M/M, Texting, experimental fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-18
Updated: 2015-05-25
Packaged: 2018-03-24 15:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3774679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/profoundfangirl/pseuds/profoundfangirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel starts texting Dean on a regular basis, which could teach them both a thing or two about their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note Oct 2017: I didn't mean to abandon a WIP. I am so sorry. I am an awful human being.
> 
> The first chapter can be read as a brief standalone fic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was written for a very nice person on [Tumblr](http://www.fluffbuttcas.tumblr.com), but since I'm not great at prompts I'm posting it here as a bit of an experiment. I couldn't find a beta, so I'm hoping to get some feedback.
> 
> I have written a second chapter, and an outline for a third, if people want them. This chapter is just a drabble, and based on the comments I get I will decide if I am going to continue posting or not. Thanks!

When you have a younger brother, sometimes they do annoying things simply because they can. That means sometimes they forget to bring you pie, and then claim they know nothing about why you are upset. Or, they might superglue your fingers to a beer bottle. And it could just be that your sibling thinks it is hilarious to steal your phone when you’re not looking, to change your text alert noises. In this case, it was the latter. And Sammy was sneakier than most. He didn’t just change Dean’s text alert ringtone, because then Dean would have noticed right away. No, Sam only changed the notification for when someone sent Dean a picture message, which would take longer to happen but meant that the payoff would be greater. Sam set the phone to loudly blast “Because You Loved Me” when someone sent Dean a picture.

It might have been funnier if Dean hadn’t been trying to stalk a werewolf the first time it happened. Of course, Dean should have put his phone on vibrate that was Hunter 101. But he had forgotten because not many people call him or even have his number. Dean had scrambled to silence his phone, but the werewolf had already heard him and found his hiding space. The monster had thrown Dean against the wall of the warehouse, which knocked the wind out of him. Luckily, Sam was there to put two silver bullets into the werewolf before it could cause any real damage.

“Thanks,” Dean groaned, testing his limbs to make sure nothing had popped out of place.

“No problem, but next time we go hunting you might want to silence your cell phone,” Sam said with a slight smirk at his brother.

“I’m not the one who picked a crappy Celine Dion song, Sam.”

"You knew it was Celine Dion!" Sam gasped, almost doubling over from laughing.

Dean huffed, but decided not to comment, opening his cell phone to see what was so important.

[picture message received 9:28 pm]

Dean cocked his eyebrow as he hit the download button, and waited for the image to open. When it finally loaded he was looking at about half of Castiel’s face in the frame, and it was out of focus. The text underneath read: _I believe this is what humans call a “selfie”_

Dean smiled as he typed back: _u might want to work on tht_

Castiel continued to text Dean intermittently. He seemed to enjoy using emoticons in almost every text. It wasn’t just the usual colons and parentheses, Cas liked to include small characters wearing sunglasses or icons of food. Sam told him they were called emojis. Dean didn’t know what that meant, he just told Cas his texts looked like they came from a 14-year-old girl.

[message received 12:15 pm] _How many 14 year old girls do you text Dean?_

Castiel was becoming more sarcastic with his texts, and Dean enjoyed it. He had to smile as he texted back: _shut up_

Besides emoticons, Castiel liked sending Dean pictures of whatever caught his eye during the day. Each picture message would be signaled by the wailing voice of Celine, and each time he got a picture message Dean swore he would change his ringtone, but he never seemed to get around to changing it.

When Dean opened the pictures, most of the time it was scenery. He would get stills of mountains, or rivers, or a peaceful looking park. Sometimes Cas would be standing in, or partially in the frame, giving the camera a stern look like he was going to smite it instead of take selfies with it. It made Dean chuckle every time, to see the angel coping with technology.

He could imagine Cas muttering to his phone before taking the picture. Or huffing to himself when it wasn’t just right, and he had to take another shot. Dean imagined that Castiel was a perfectionist when it came to taking cell phone pictures, so Dean could see him taking multiple angles before deciding which one to send to Dean. The thought of Cas capturing those pictures, and debating with himself on which one to send made Dean smile.

Sometimes, if he was having a rough day, Dean would scroll back through all of the pictures Castiel had sent him over the weeks. He caught himself staring at his phone with a sappy smile on his face more often than not.

Dean saved every single text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to read more, let me know. The next chapter would include a bit of Wing!Kink, more exactly Dean finding out he has that kink. There wouldn't be any actual smut until chapter three, if requested.
> 
> Let me know in the comments! Come say hello on [my Tumblr](http://www.deanandishareamoreprofoundbond.tumblr.com)!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bumped up the rating because in this chapter Dean goes to a strip club and gets turned on (naughty boy!) but it’s nothing too graphic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is sorta canon - but not really. There's the bunker, and Cas has his wings but is driving instead of flying. It's like pieces of s8 and s9, without the angst.
> 
> As with last chapter, I am posting without a beta. So let me know if you see any mistakes. Or you know, if you’d like to be my beta. _*Puss in Boots eyes*_
> 
> Thanks everyone!

Sam found an entire second library hidden in the bunker, full of books that needed to be categorized.  He asked Dean if he wanted to help with the organization and Dean was proud of himself for not laughing in his brother’s face.

It wasn’t that Dean didn’t want to be helpful, but it was already past seven o’clock at night and he knew Librarian Sammy would be only too happy to pull an all-nighter to organize the stacks.  Dean had other plans for the evening - including a marathon of Star Trek movies and a bottle of twenty-five year old scotch that the Men of Letters had left behind.

Dean was feeling fairly buzzed and happy at the end of the first movie and halfway through the bottle, when he got a picture message from Cas.

[message received 9:15 pm]   _Could you tell me which of these ties you prefer?_

Dean squinted at the pictures on his phone.  They were both nearly identical.  Cas, stonily staring down his phone’s camera, in his basic suit and trenchcoat ensemble in both pictures. In one he was wearing a green tie, and in the other photo a red tie.

Dean closed his eyes and shook his head, which sort of made the room spin, so not his best idea.  He opened his eyes and the pictures were still on his phone.  Okay, so he wasn’t that drunk.

[message sent 9:26 pm]   _why are u shopping 4 new tees cas?_

[message sent 9:26 pm]   _*ties not tees_

[message sent 9:27 pm]   _srry ima little drunk atm_

[message received 9:27 pm]   _I thought having different ties would help me blend in when I have to work with other humans on a case several days in a row._

[message received 9:30 pm]   _You’re drunk Dean?  Does this mean we’re drunk texting?_

[message sent 9:32 pm]   _whut? nooooo!_

[message sent 9:33 pm]   _for one ur not drunk_

[message sent 9:35 pm]   _and the pics ur snding wld have to be lots more revealling_

[message received 9:40 pm]   _I see._

[message received 9:45 pm]   _What sorts of pictures would I send if I were drunk?_

Dean was so happily buzzed that the question didn’t even phase him.  He smiled at the opportunity to teach Cas something about human behavior.  He happily let the instructions run through his head and out through his fingers.

[message sent 9:48 pm]   _snding pic w/ clothes iss fine but u shld be more naked next time_

[message received 9:51 pm]   _Why would people want naked pictures of people they know?_

[message sent 9:52 pm]   _its exciteing_

[message sent 9:53 pm]   _it turns them on_

[message sent 9:55 pm]   _ppl like seeing stuff they don’t get to see very often_

Dean sat with his phone is his hand for several minutes with no reply.  He took another big glup of scotch and waited.  He didn’t even feel the alcohol catching up to him.  He thought he should lay his head down and wait for the next text message.  A minute later he was passed out against the arm of the couch.  He didn’t even hear his phone vibrate.

[message received 10:01 pm] _I think I understand Dean._

 

~*~

 

“What the hell happened to you?”

Dean jolted back into consciousness with his gigantor brother leaning over him.  Dean lifted his arm to wave Sam away, but it seemed to be now made of lead and came down smacking him in the face.  Sam laughed loudly, hitting Dean with a throw pillow.

“See what you get for not helping me in the library?”

“Nerd,” Dean groaned pushing himself up to sitting.  

He blinked, looking around the room.  The bottle of scotch was nearly empty.  The television was still on, but the DVD player must have automatically shut itself off, leaving a blaring blue screen.  Dean was cold from sleeping without a blanket in the drafty underground bunker.  And he had passed out at an odd angle, leaving a crick in his neck.  Perfect way to start the day.

“Go take a shower, while I make some coffee," Sam said wrinkling his nose, "We can take it on the road with us.  I’ll drive.”

“On the road?”

“Yeah, we have a case in North Texas.  Garth called.  Said something has been taking little kids, and he can’t get there until next week.  We have to go now.”

Dean nodded and got to his feet, knowing he would make it a quick shower.  The adrenaline helped clear up the worst of the hangover.  This is why they always kept their weapons in the Impala ready to go.  Always be prepared - the hunter motto.  Or maybe that was the Boy Scouts?  But still, good advice.

Dean dropped his phone in the bottom of his duffle bag, forgetting about any of the texts from the night before.  He was focused on the hunt now.  Sam and Dean were on the road in twenty minutes.

 

~*~

 

Texas turned out to be more complicated than they thought.  Luckily, Sam and Dean had found all the kids, but not what had been taking them.  The trail had gone cold.  None of the kids stories matched about what they had seen, so they had little to go on.  The brothers were happy to return the kids to their parents, but didn’t want to leave until they hunted down the monster to make sure it didn't abduct anyone else.  They camped out in a small hotel at the edge of town, trying to piece everything together.

It was the sort of hunt that drove Dean nuts.  He liked action.  He enjoyed feeling needed.  Point him at a monster, and he would happily kill it.  That was his job.  Sitting in a hotel room on a laptop for several days in a row made him a little stir crazy.  He hadn’t realized how much he had grown accustomed to the bunker already and all the space they had to stretch out.

He was feeling like he had cabin fever, living in a single room with Sam again.  His little brother was not so little.  The guy took up a lot more space than Dean remembered from their time before of living on the road together.  

Dean tried not to snap at Sam, but he was feeling anxious.  He didn’t even have any good texts from Cas to pass the time.  On their second day in Texas, he had texted telling Cas where they were in case he went to the bunker looking for them.  There had been no response.

Dean tried to go to bed early to see if some extra sleep would help his mood.

 

~*~

 

Dean parked the Impala outside of a dark club that advertised “Live! Nude! Girls!” in bright neon.  The bouncer waved him in, and he walked up to the bar to order a beer.  He looked around, taking in the sights.  A lot of the girls were pretty, and a cute blonde waitress winked as she strutted by him.  Before Dean could come up with an opening line, there was a loud cheer over by the main stage.  Intrigued, Dean took an empty seat at the end and waited for the next act to start.

The lights went low, and the cheers of the crowd got louder.  Dean could hear the people, but they all seemed to fade away into the darkness, and he couldn’t make out anyone’s faces.  No one except the athletic dancer who made her way onto the stage when the spotlight hit the curtain.  

She had long, dark, wavy hair, almost like Lisa’s, that cascaded down the middle of her back.  She was wearing chic glasses and a men’s dress shirt that barely caressed the tops of her thighs.  She swayed her hips in time to the music, and Dean’s attention was laser-focused to see what she would do next.  First, the glasses came off and were thrown into the crowd.  Next, she turned her back to Dean and started unbuttoning her shirt, giving him a flirty glance over her shoulder.  Dean swallowed, not sure why he had all her attention, but he wasn’t going to complain.

The shirt slipped down to the stage floor, leaving the dancer in iridescent blue booty shorts and a matching tube top.  She shimmied her shoulders in Dean’s direction, and he felt like he was the only one in the room.  The dancer winked, before turning to lift herself onto the pole.  It was a complicate routine, but she made it look effortless.  She twirled and swung around the pole, a display of dance and of strength.  Dean was caught staring at the defined muscles of her shoulders and her strong thighs that were able to hold her upside down by her legs alone.  

The next move was even more surprising.  As she lowered herself onto the floor, in a controlled move, she reached up to run a hand through her hair, and pulled off what must have been a wig.  The hair underneath looked even darker than before, but that might have been the shortness of the pixie cut.  The hair looked textured and spiky, and Dean’s fingers itched to run through the strands and see if it would be stiff or fluffy.  The dancer rolled onto her stomach pulling herself into an arching cobra pose right in front of Dean.  

Dean wasn’t normally a fan of shorter haircuts on women, but this time it was sort of working for him.  Her body was athletic not curvy, but she had so much control over it, that it was impressive.  Yes, she was a little flat chested, but Dean could ignore that for all of the confidence she had.  And her eyes were her best feature.  Dean was staring into these intense blue eyes, and it was like nothing else in the room existed.  The music had faded away.  He didn’t notice any other people in the club.  All that he saw were blue eyes, and all he felt was how fast his heart was beating.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

She opened her mouth to answer, and it came out as Celine Dion.

Dean swore as he swiped open his phone, grumpy about being interrupted from the only good dream he had had in weeks.  He was determined to finally change that damn ringtone once and for all.  What he saw stopped him in his tracks.

Dean had to actually take a few deep breaths and blink several times.  He looked around the room, to make sure he was actually awake this time, before staring at his phone again.  Because what he was seeing couldn’t actually be real.  Could it?  Because what he was seeing was one half of Castiel’s face, the slope of his bare shoulder, and a flare of shiny black feathers behind him.

Dean enlarged the picture to squint at the feathers.  The quality was a bit fuzzy, being a cell phone image, but there was no mistaking what it was.  Castiel was framed by large black feathers, extending from behind his shoulders.  Some of the feathers seemed to almost have a bluish hue, but Dean wasn’t sure if that was the feathers or the picture quality.  Dean held onto his phone for so long, staring at the enlarged picture, that he didn’t notice the string of texts that had followed it.  

There had been no notification sound, since the text screen was already open.

[message received 1:12 am]   _I had occasion to use my wings so I thought you might like to see what they look like._

[message received 1:15 am]   _I didn't answer your text about Texas because I was out of cellular range._

[message received 1:20 am]   _What do you think?_

[message received 1:36 am]   _Dean??_

Dean froze.  He didn’t want to ignore Cas, especially about something this important, but he had no idea what to say.  It was one thing to know that Cas was an angel, a different species, but it was quite another to have the proof in his hands.  He had only seen Cas’ wings that first time they met in the barn, and those had only been a dark shadow.  Not anything like what Dean was seeing now.

If it were Sam looking at the wings, his geek brain would be in overdrive.  He would be asking Castiel all sorts of questions about how the wings worked, and what plane or dimension they were in most of the time.  Dean’s brain didn’t work like that.

Dean could only focus on the stubble on Cas’s cheek, and the set of his jaw.  He kept staring at the muscled slope of Cas’ bare shoulder – so much exposed skin.  That, in itself, was enough to get Dean’s attention.  And of course the sleek black feathers that rose up behind Castiel were highly suggestive in their own right.  The power they symbolized.  The fact that it was Castiel’s most private body part, and he had sent a photo of it to Dean, sent a tingle down his spine.

Dean could feel the effect it was having on him, about a second before it actually happened.  His legs shifted underneath the covers, which brought the sheets rubbing against his erection.  Dean gasped in surprise, not realizing how turned on he was until that moment.  Sam snorted in his sleep and turned over.  Dean swore under his breath and slunk into the bathroom to pull himself together.

His heart was beating like he had outrun a Wendigo.  His penis was only about half hard, the shock of almost waking up Sam like that wasn’t exactly a turn-on.  Dean splashed some cold water on his face and told himself to calm down.

_Right, everything is fine_ , he told himself, _don’t make a big deal about it._

Apparently, it wasn’t that easy.  Dean could not get the image of Cas’ wings to go away.  It seemed that Dean Winchester had a wing kink, and his best friend had just sent him a picture of his wings.

Fantastic.

 

~*~

 

Dean Winchester handled the epiphany about Cas’ wings in the same way he handled most of his important emotional issues.

He avoided it.

If he didn’t talk about the picture, then it was like the picture didn’t exist.  Right?

And the sexual response had been even easier to rationalize to himself.  He had been having a dream about a very hot girl, in a strip club.  He had probably woken up half hard to begin with and his erection had nothing at all to do with the wings.  Everything would be fine.  No one had to know a thing.

Dean didn’t respond to Castiel’s picture message, which he felt bad about, since he usually replied as soon as he got the texts.  Dean had no idea what to say that wouldn’t make things awkward.  There were few things that he could say to Cas that would do the picture justice.  Castiel’s wings were such a mysterious part of the angel.  He had known Castiel for years and Dean had almost started to think of him as human.  The picture was proof that Castiel was not human, and on top of that, Dean felt his face heat up everytime he thought about staring at that picture of Cas while he was aroused.  It was all so confusing.

It was easy for Dean to absolve himself of some of the guilt over ignoring Cas.  They were on a hunt and he was busy.  Lives were hanging in the balance and that meant he didn’t have to answer Cas right away.  Right?

Even in his own head it sounded lame.

Dean was so screwed.

 

~*~

 

It was four long days before Dean and Sam were able to hunt down the monster - similar to a changeling but it hadn’t fed on any of the parents yet.  They made it back to the bunker, dragging their feet.  Dean was happy to see home again.  The time had seemed much longer, especially with no word from Cas.  Four days of radio silence.  Four days where Dean most definitely did not check his phone every ten or twenty minutes.  Four days where he didn’t feel his phone phantom vibrate in his pocket, and hurry to answer, only to find that no one was there.  Four days where Dean felt like an idiot for not replying to that damn picture message.

That night, having gone to bed right after dinner, Dean found himself tossing and turning in bed unable to sleep.  He felt like a jackass.  He knew exactly what was keeping him awake and it was the feeling of guilt over what he had done to Cas.  His best friend had shared something personal and Dean had responded by ignoring him.

Dean picked up his phone off the bedside table, ready to text him and apologize.  It immediately felt awkward.  It had been too long for Dean to be casual with him, but nothing he could text in a few characters would be enough to say all the things he needed to apologize.

What was that saying?  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Dean had never sent Castiel a picture message, he realized.  He could start now, to break the ice.

He sat up in bed and turned on the tableside lamps.  He picked up his phone and gave the camera a deadpan look.   _Click_.  Dean looked at his picture.  He looked bored.  That wasn’t right.  Dean tried again, but he looked even more confused in the second picture.  Damn.  How did everyone take freakin’ selfies all the time?  Dean turned the camera on himself one more time.  He looked into the lens, and tried to imagine he was looking into Castiel’s eyes.  He tried to convey how he was feeling - glad to see his friend again after being apart from him for so long.   _Click_.

Dean turned around the phone, and was almost shocked at how relaxed he looked.  He appeared to be content and happy, but not cheesy.  And no blue steel.  He just looked at peace with himself.  His hair was slightly ruffled and you could tell he was laying in his bed.  

He typed: _got back from a long hunt and so happy to be in my bed again_

Happy with his message, Dean hit send.  He smiled to himself and waited for Cas to reply.

He waited.

And he waited.

Dean started to get a little bored.  He kept clicking his phone screen on again, to make sure he hadn’t missed a notification.  Nothing.

Sighing, Dean clicked off the lamp and laid down to try and sleep.  He figured he had this coming.  He had ignored Cas for several days, so this was just karma.

When Dean’s phone went off at midnight with the now familiar Celine Dion ringtone, Dean had never been so happy to hear that stupid song.

[picture message received 12:02 am]

Dean quickly swiped open his phone.  It was a picture of a piece of pie, sitting on a diner counter.  Cas had apparently learned how to use filters, because it looked grainy, like an old-time photo.  Cas had captioned it, _I ordered this because it made me think of you_.

Dean didn’t even hesitate to text back, _good choice cas_.  He went to sleep with a smile on his face.

 

~*~

 

After that, the messages came regularly again.  Castiel kept texting pictures, and messages throughout his travels.  It wasn’t long before Dean noticed that the texts started getting more personal again.  Castiel sent pictures of band t-shirts that he thought Dean might like.  And the scenery or landscapes Cas was sending were specific places that Castiel said he wanted to visit with Dean.

[message received 5:30 pm]   _I think we should go on a vacation. All of us. You and Sam deserve it._

[message sent 5:34 pm]   _sounds good :) where should we go?_

[message received 5:40 pm]   _How about somewhere warm? Maybe the ocean, where Sam could learn to surf and we could have a fire on the beach._

[message sent 6:00 pm] _dunno man I have lots of freckles don’t think I could be in the sun too long_

[message received 6:03 pm] _I could shade you with my wings._

There is was.  The proverbial elephant in the room.  Dean had ignored the last text about Cas’ wings, and he had lived with the guilt about it for days.  He wouldn’t be making that same mistake again.  He had to let Cas know that he didn’t mind the wings.  Dean had to acknowledge them if he ever wanted to be able to see them in person.  Which he wanted to happen more than just about anything - he was not going to even try and convince himself otherwise.

[message sent 6:08 pm] _that would be cool cas I would like to see them sometime_

Instead of a text message response, Dean’s phone rang with a call.  He picked up on the second ring.

“Hey Cas.”

“Hello, Dean.”

“What’s up?”

“I wanted to let you know, umm.  Well, there is something I need to say…” Cas trailed off.

Dean had never heard him nervous before.  His stomach did a little somersault at the thought.  He couldn’t let Cas flounder like this.  He suddenly wanted to see him in person.  He needed to look Cas in the eyes, and explain to him why Dean had been so weird lately.

“Cas,” Dean interrupted.

“Yes Dean?” Cas asked, stopping his rambling mid-sentence.

“How soon can you get here?”

Dean could practically hear Cas’ smile on the end of the line.

“I’ll start driving now.”

Early the next morning Dean woke up to one new message.

[picture message received 8:32 am]

Dean opened his phone, to a picture of a wide, clear field featuring a sign that read “Welcome to Kansas.” The text from Cas read: _I’m almost home._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Dean’s subconscious might have been trying to tell him something with that stripper, what do you think?
> 
> As with the last chapter, please let me know what you liked or didn’t like in the comments. I have a rough outline for the next chapter, probably smut, if you guys are interested? Or would you rather see something different?
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
